Homzmart was founded in late 2019 by Daraz's former COO Mahmoud Ibrahim and Ibrahim Mohammed who...

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Homzmart was founded in late 2019 by Daraz's former COO Mahmoud Ibrahim and Ibrahim Mohammed who led Jumia's h homzmart logistics development in Egypt to make furniture discovery and shopping easier for customers in Egypt. Its platform currently features 55,000 products from thousands of brands and merchants and has grown over 30x (in terms of sales) in the last twelve months, a statement by the startup noted, adding that it now incorporates artificial intelligence and other tools to optimize the content of sellers and help shoppers with their purchasing decisions. Homzmart uses three different product design strategies to sustain its competitive advantages. First, it produces large quantities of identical products (e.g., home furniture) at affordable prices. Second, it manufactures products according to customers' preferences and specific requirements (e.g., "Design your perfect sofa", "Create your dream kitchen", and "Make your own toy for children"). By this strategy, the customer can design his/her own product and add it to his/her own shopping list or visit Homzmart store, which can make a special production order for that customer. Third, the customer can buy a standard closet, but can add the interior like shelves or change its accessories and color according to his/her own taste. As an operations manager you are required to: (a) Identify and evaluate the three different product design strategies used at Homzmart in terms of its advantages and disadvantages. (3 marks) (b) Give examples on other industries/companies that are also applying the third strategy. (3 marks) (c) What is meant by the term life cycle? Why would this be a consideration in product or service design? (2 marks) (a) What is qualitative forecasting technique, and when is its use appropriate? (2 marks) Homzmart was founded in late 2019 by Daraz's former COO Mahmoud Ibrahim and Ibrahim Mohammed who led Jumia's h homzmart logistics development in Egypt to make furniture discovery and shopping easier for customers in Egypt. Its platform currently features 55,000 products from thousands of brands and merchants and has grown over 30x (in terms of sales) in the last twelve months, a statement by the startup noted, adding that it now incorporates artificial intelligence and other tools to optimize the content of sellers and help shoppers with their purchasing decisions. Homzmart uses three different product design strategies to sustain its competitive advantages. First, it produces large quantities of identical products (e.g., home furniture) at affordable prices. Second, it manufactures products according to customers' preferences and specific requirements (e.g., "Design your perfect sofa", "Create your dream kitchen", and "Make your own toy for children"). By this strategy, the customer can design his/her own product and add it to his/her own shopping list or visit Homzmart store, which can make a special production order for that customer. Third, the customer can buy a standard closet, but can add the interior like shelves or change its accessories and color according to his/her own taste. As an operations manager you are required to: (a) Identify and evaluate the three different product design strategies used at Homzmart in terms of its advantages and disadvantages. (3 marks) (b) Give examples on other industries/companies that are also applying the third strategy. (3 marks) (c) What is meant by the term life cycle? Why would this be a consideration in product or service design? (2 marks) (a) What is qualitative forecasting technique, and when is its use appropriate? (2 marks)

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a The three product design strategies used by Homzmart are 1 Producing large quantities of identical products at affordable prices Advantages Economie... View the full answer